Reasonable Commands
by Yunno
Summary: What do the Loonatics do when they find an old enemy is destroying people’s inhibitions, including some of their own teammates’?
1. Chapter 1

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Reasonable Commands" part 1

(This story is post "Going Underground.")

Not sure of rating. Chose T for reading level, not content.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed and related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Lexi walked into the Loonatic's open living room that connected loosely with the kitchen and dining areas, ruefully rubbing her hypersensitive ears. The nearly sub-aural rumble that had been reverberating throughout the tower since far too early in the morning was making her long, rabbit ears positively ache! She had her EMP3 Music Blaster 5000 with her, but it didn't block out the added noise. "WHAT is Rev doing?"

"I'm-not-doing-anything." Hearing his name, the roadster zipped over from the adjoining kitchen area carrying the remains of his breakfast with him. Rev came to a sudden, vibrating stop in front of his female teammate. "Nix-nada-nothing. Not-that-I-don't-plan-on-doing-something-later-unless-of-course-I-should-be-doing-something-now-in-which-case-I-must-have-forgotten-it. Should-I-be-doing-something-Lexi?"

"Well, if the music isn't yours and it isn't mine," Lexi complained still rubbing her ears, "then who's is it?"

Ace wandered in from his early morning workout. Overhearing the discussion, the yellow and black clad bunny made a detour from getting his own breakfast to join in. Before the Loonatic leader could ask what was going on, Slam 'tornado-ed' through, trailing a purple glow behind him and leaving a more or less unidentifiable mass of donut in Ace's hands. "Uh, t'anks, Slam . . . I t'ink." Then Ace shrugged; breakfast was breakfast after all. He lightly blasted the donut with his laser vision to heat it and took a bite.

"Rrhhng ppptttt kkrrngblaa nothin'," Slam garbled in Tasmanian.

Danger Duck executed a hand spring, athletically spring over the back of the couch to land suavely on the cushions. The mallard hooked his hands behind his head. "Slam's right, toots. I don't hear anything either. Are you sure you're not just picking up the satellite again?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Lexi grumbled. "That was the first thing I checked."

"Eh, my guess is dat it's Tech." Ace did a quick nose count of his team. "He's da only one not here. Ya t'ink we should check up on our coyote? He probably pulled another all-nighter."

Rev gulped the last of his super booster pick-me-up shake breakfast, and acting on Ace's unspoken command, dashed out to check up on his best friend. The speedy roadrunner was back before most of the group even knew that he'd gone. The speedster could have used his internal global positioning to find Tech, but where was the fun in that? He'd rather run. "He's-not-in-his-lab-his-room-or-even-in-the-basement-which-is-really-odd-since-he-said-last-night-that-he-wanted-to-check-the-foundation."

"Well, den gang, da only way ta go," Ace replied with a cocky grin, "is up."

Yellow Triangle.

As the five Loonatics neared the highest level of the spherical, blue glowing 'hamster ball' that hovered atop their headquarter tower they began to feel deep, rhythmic vibrations coming up through the floor. Every once in a while the vibrations would cease for a few minutes before starting up again. By the time they reached the apex hanger where the Loonatics kept all their vehicles, they could actually see the doors vibrating.

Ace placed a hand on the closed doors, the vibrations tingled up his entire arm. His piercing blue eyes locked briefly with Lexi's green ones. The poor girl, with her extraordinary hearing it was no wonder that her ears hurt. "What IS Tech doing in dere?"

Eye's widening in mock alarm, Danger's hand darted up and clamped Rev's beak closed as the hyperactive roadrunner opened his mouth to answer. "That, was a rhetorical question."

"Gblch ppptttt gblaa kkrrnpppttttrrhhnggblaa means?" Slam cocked his head at Danger, humor glinting in his crimson eyes.

"Yeesh, Smart Alec. Of course, I know what 'Rhetorical' means." Danger folded his arms indignantly across his chest. He continued muttering. "You don't hang around 'Mr. Big Words' in there for this long without being corrupted by some of it."

"So, uh, do we go in?" Lexi asked hesitantly. The bunny wasn't really anxious to get her ears blasted anymore than they already were.

"Na uh, not yet." Ace waited until the vibrations stopped again before popping open the hanger bay doors and stepping in.

Tech was standing in the center of the Loonatic's garage with a large, sound cancellation headset over his long ears. The emerald glow shining in his eyes and emanating from his hands encased one of the zoomatrix bikes as he moved it to a pre-marked spot on the hanger floor. Once the land-and-air cycle was positioned, the coyote powered down his magnetism and checked one of the holographic computer displays hanging in the air in front of him. He talked quietly to himself as he typed on one of the holographic keyboards of his palmtop computer, obviously not aware that he was verbalizing his thoughts. "Acoustic parameters, check. Sound bafflers, check. Resonance frequency, calculated. Alright, just one more test and my baby's good to go."

The rest of the Loonatics looked around, baffled, at the garage. Tech had pulled away everything from the walls and completely rearranged the vehicular landing pads. Even the jetpack shelves were now freestanding. There was also a towering monolith in the center of the domed room pointing out the opened triangle exit hatch and there was a newly mounted receiving dish on the tower's top-most anti-gravity spike. The light blue sphere that made up the main living quarters, training areas, and labs of the Loonatic Headquarters hovered between two such anti-gravity generators, one above, and one beneath, suspending the globe in the eye of the tower's three spike-like spires. The main body of the tower was taken up in in its power core and vast information conduits as well as ancillary bays and armature encasements.

"Wow-it-looks-like-he's-building-an-enormous-resonance-chamber-like-an-inverse-megaphone. I-mean-man-o-man-you-could-do-all-sorts-of-neat-stuff-with-a-set-up-like-this!" Rev exclaimed excitedly. "Unless-of-course-Tech-is-actually-practicing-the-ancient-Chinese-art-of-feng-shuri-to-create-a-harmonious-surrounding-to-enhance-balance-of-yin-and-yang-and-improve-the-flow-of-chi-by-rearranging-all-the-objects-in-the-hanger."

Unaware that his friends were in the hanger with him, Tech typed in the activation code once more. His olive green eyes flicked up to watch the graphics rise on one of his holographic computer screens, but they flew wide in horror as he saw his teammates through its translucent data. Instantly his eyes and hands glowed green again as he magnetically ripped off his sound cancellation headphones and flung the headset to clamp over Lexi's sensitive ears.

A deep, sonorous blast threw the unsuspecting Loonatics back. They sailed out the still open bay doors and smacked in a clump against the far wall of the hallway. Tech, however, was caught in the epicenter of the cacophonous maelstrom. Driven to his knees, Tech clamped his still glowing hands to his ears, covering his entire body in a shimmering emerald glow. It did no good. The magnetic field could not keep out the damaging sound. The coyote's agonized howl was swallowed up in the din.

Finding herself somewhat insulated from the assault by the headset, Lexi, kicked against the wall, somersaulting out of the tangled mass of her teammates. Her movement dislodged Ace as well, but the sound pounding them from the adjoining room kept the Loonatic leader out.

Lexi made her way back into the bay, but pushing against the heavy vibrations in the air was like fighting against the incoming tide. The floor was also vibrating in time with the exceedingly loud sound, making it hard to maintain balance. Her stomach clenched as her green eyes caught on the tortured form of her coyote friend, and she was glad she couldn't hear his pain. How could she stop the noise? Lexi didn't dare brain blast the devise. Many of Tech's devices were volatile and she didn't want to risk a major explosion on top of everything else. With all the equipment in the hanger, she could bring down the entire sphere. She tried typing in on the control pad, but couldn't figure out the deactivation code. Starting to panic, she quickly looked for a failsafe or even a self destruct button, but couldn't find one. Not knowing what else to do, Lexi fought her way over to a thick power cord leading to Tech's invention and yanked. When it didn't come free, she gave it a half twist and yanked again.

Ace bounded into the room as the sound died away. Lexi pulled the sound cancellation headset off as he approached and beamed at him. He was surprised at how relieved he was that she was okay. Behind them, Rev, Slam, and Danger Duck slid down the wall to land in a tangled heap. Danger was on the bottom of the pile. Tech whimpered slightly as his molecular regeneration repaired his shattered inner ears. He soon recovered and stood.

"WHAT was dat?" Ace demanded.

"The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos . . . or more accurately, a recording of their chants." Tech grimaced slightly until finally the residual ringing in his ears subsided. "The chants produce the frequencies that I need."

Ace and Lexi exchanged looks and shrugged. Trust their genius to listen to monks chanting while he worked on his inventions.

"So ya wanna tell us why ya used musty old monks ta turn our flight deck inta a death trap?" Ace studied Tech narrow-eyed, determining if the coyote was healed enough for a dressing down. The Loonatic leader tried to sound stern, but though the bunny took his position as leader seriously, he was having a rough time of it. Ace trained hard, fought hard, and played hard. And he encouraged his team to do likewise. The martial arts expert didn't like discouraging his genius by busting his chops every time an invention went haywire, but Tech's mistakes often had dire consequences!

"Why would you even build something that insanely dangerous!" Danger, however, had no problem voicing his disapproval. He quacked over and drew up to his full diminutive height. The mallard rapped a finger sharply on the coyote's chest. "You nearly blasted us to kingdom come!"

"I was building a frequency generator to broadcast calculated resonance wave modulations down through the length of the tower to test whether the reinforcements on foundation that we installed was up to earthquake code. Since Dr. Thaddeus Dare shook up Acmetropolis with his geokinesis induced subterranean events, I thought it expedient." Tech tapped in a series of commands and a blueprint of the process appeared on the holographic screen hanging in the air. It showed how the hanger focused the sound waves to travel up, out of the hanger bay to be collected in the dish attached to the top spire of the tower. They then would be sent down the length of the tower to its foundation. If it survived the vibrations in tact, it meant that not even the strongest earthquake would rock Loonatic Tower.

Even with the visual aid, Tech met with the blank, uncomprehending stares of his teammates. The coyote genius looked to Rev for a simpler explanation, but the roadrunner was still entangled with Slam out in the hall. Unsure how to bridge the communication gap himself, Tech settled on an apology instead. "I'm sorry guys, I didn't know you were here. With the doors closed, the sound paradigm would have been completely contained."

"Oh, bruddah." Ace murmured to himself. "I can't even understand his apologies."

"Tech, even before your big sonic boom," Lexi interrupted the genius with a bit of reproving in her voice. "I heard you all over the sphere."

"Oh." Tech considered the information. The resident genius annotated a note in his 'to do' file. He should be able to get to it later this week. "Hmm, yes, well it sounds like I need to increase the sound proofing for the base."

"Ya think?" Lexi smiled at the coyote, softening her rebuke. She handed his headset back to him. It wasn't really her color anyway. The bunny rested her hand lightly on the scientist's arm a moment, silently telling him that she wasn't really that upset, but also that he really, REALLY needed to be more careful in the future.

"The one time I didn't build in a self-destruct mechanism, and I should have." Tech sighed heavily, shaking his head. He just couldn't win. If it hadn't been for Lexi unplugging his invention, he might have seriously injured all his teammates—all his friends.

"Tech." Ace place a firm hand on his teammate's shoulder, demanding his full attention. Confronted with the coyote's drooping ears and wide, hang dog eyes, the bunny relented. He turned to check on the rest of the team. "Next time ya decide ta turn our home inta a master blaster capable of deafening da city . . . ehhh, let me know foist."

"Irhhng pppttttnngbl rrhhng gblaa rrhhnggblaa fun." Slam's deep voice cut through the chit-chat. He and Rev reentered the hanger bay.

"'I thought it was kinda fun.'" Danger mimicked, rolling his eyes heavenward. Trust the Tasmanian devil to enjoy getting slammed into the wall. "You would."

"Oh-wow-this-is-so-cool! I-had-no-idea-that-our-flight-deck-was-such-a-good-acoustic-chamber. You-can-hear-everything-no-matter-how-quiet-you-whisper." Rev repeatedly ran from one side of the room, whisper something, then dash to the other side of the room in time to hear it. The roadrunner then dashed back to his friends. "Is-this-what-you-hear-all-the-time?-because-if-it-is-then-man-oh-man-you-must-just-love-your-powers! Oh-and-may-I-borrow-this-just-for-a-minute?"

Rev snatched Lexi's EMP3 Music Blaster 5000 before she had a chance to react to his rapid stream of words. The speedster was over at Tech's hovering computer in a flash. He plugged in the music player and turned it on. Lexi's favorite music sensation flooded the acoustically perfect hanger. Luckily, Rev had thought to turn down the volume to just above a whisper so that even though it filled the garage, it didn't blast them all into the wall again. The roadrunner worked rapidly at the keyboard to program in a complimenting light show into the projector. Colored lights and perfect pitch pulsed through the domed room. "Wow! there-is-absolutely-no-distortion-at-all! Sweet-sweet-sweet!"

"You said it!" Lexi smiled widely. "Our next party definitely needs to be up here!"

"So-Tech," Rev stopped in front of his best friend. "How'd-you-get-the-sound-cancellation-headset-on-to-Lexi-so-fast-without-whacking-her-unconscious-with-it? I-mean-it's-a-really-good-thing-you-did-otherwise-we'd-all-have-to-wear-hearing-aides-for-the-rest-of-our-lives. You-must-be-working-on-fine-tuning-your-power."

"Simple," Tech replied with a slight shrug. "I merely homed my magnetic powers on Lexi's EMP3 ear buds and followed the electromagnetic lines."

The light projector wavered and the tall, elegant form of Zadavia's hologram materialized within its light beam, cutting short all conversation. It was a bit unsettling. You never knew which cameras or networks she might be tapping into at any given time. "Loonatics, gather around. We face a major crisis. Upload city wide surveillance feed now."

Tech moved to comply and soon multiple scenes of mass riots and intracity mayhem shared Zadavia's column of light. One of the screens showed a short, square-built man in a green lab coat. He sported thick, goggle-like glasses and a sharply pointed goatee; his black hair, parted by a streak of violet-grey, flared up into two spikes on either side of his head.

"It looks like Professor Zane escaped and is up ta his old tricks." Ace commented as Zadavia started the briefing.

"Oh, no. Not destroying Acmetropolis with more Fuz-Zs, I hope!" Lexi had initially love the hot new trend of bio-pets, but the chocoholic monsters were definitely more of a headache than they were worth!

"No. Something much worse," Zadavia intoned in her nearly emotionless voice. On one view screen, a maniacally laughing Professor Zane pointed some sort of machine at a crowd of humans and anthros gathered in central park. A prismatic spray of light and cacophonous sound swept over the people. As one, the crowd went berserk. Some laughed. Some cried. Some loved. Most fought, caught in the throws of the entirety of the sentient reality as if every frustration, fear, hatred, and jealousy was suddenly unleashed.

"Hmm, intriguing." Rapidly fiddling with the controls, Tech sectioned off a portion of the picture, magnifying it and replaying it in slow motion to study the people's reactions more closely. The coyote genius pointedly ignored his teammates' shocked, and in some cases indignant, responses to his analytical comment. He focused the picture further to show, not the people, but rather many of their pets that they had been taking for a walk in the park. "Absolutely fascinating. Anthro- and Homo- sapiens alike appear to be affected, but NOT their pets."

Zadavia continued her instructions to the team. "I'm afraid Professor Zane has somehow managed to turn Acmetropolis' citizens against themselves. It is up to you, my Loonatics, to discover how he's doing this and stop him before Acmetropolis tears itself apart. Zadavia out."

"Okay, gang. We know da who and da where. Let's go get da what and da how." Ace hopped into the supersonic transport taking his place as pilot as the rest of the team assumed their posts. "Loonatics, let's jet!"


	2. Chapter 2

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Reasonable Commands" part 2

(This story is post "Going Underground.")

Not sure of rating. Chose T for reading level, not content.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed and related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Yellow Triangle.

Ace nosed the supersonic transport into a dive over central park and parked by the great fountain. As the Loonatics leaped out, Slam paused. Duck was still in his seat fiddling with something.

"pppttttrrhhng, Duck?" Slam slurred.

"Right behind you . . . or even ahead," Danger assured as the mallard quacked out into the midst of the mayhem to cover the fact that he set a holographic hover camera above the crowd to document his heroic actions while he saved the day.

"Remember, Loonatics, dese people are civilians. Don't hurt anyone." Ace ordered. "Tech, try ta get ta Zane while da rest of us woik on crowd control."

"Right, chief."

Rev raced through the fighting knots of people, literally running circles around them and breaking them apart from their adversaries. Slam spun, scooping up combatants and individually dumping them in different locations around the park. These people definitely needed a 'timeout.' Ace, Lexi, and Danger did what they could, but their powers tended to be a bit extreme for the low contact sport they had to engage in. They were here to diffuse the situation, not escalate it. Instead, the three of them further separated those singled out by Rev and Slam, and worked on calming them down. While his teammates worked, Tech slipped through the crowds to come up behind Dr. Zane.

'All I have to do is get close enough to lift his weapon out of his hands,' Tech thought to himself. His eyes and hands began to glow, but the nearby fountain reflected the emerald light and Zane spun around. The deranged professor grabbed a small child, threatening it with his de-inhibitor gun to keep the hero at bay. Terrified, the child started to cry.

"So tell, me, Tech E. Coyote," Professor Zane smiled maliciously at the Loonatic scientist. He knew all about the genius and his spectacular failures at Acme tech. He'd even been the brilliant anthromorph's professor for one class. He easily slipped into their long standing roll of student and instructor. Zane flexed the metal talons of his left mechanical hand; the hand he'd lost in his experiments with the Fuz-Zs before he learned how to control their induced aggression. His previous experiments with the Fuz-Z bio-pets had altered them physically as well as behaviorally. His new invention, the de-inhibitor, did essentially the same thing to sentient beings, though now the physical changes were to the brain instead of the body. That, and the effects were permanent. "What happens when a person's self-control, their civility, social constraints . . . their inhibitions if you will, are removed, but not their intelligence? A pretty efficient form of emotional manipulation, wouldn't you agree?"

"Not particularly," Tech countered. Gone were the days when he'd held any regard for Zane. The coyote eased down his power, but remained alert. A faint emerald green glow smoldered in the depths of his olive eyes and teased the tips of his fingers. Drawing on what he knew of neuroscience, the Loonatic pieced together his own theory of Zane's invention. "I know what you've done. The brain is not a static, unchanging organ. It is significantly shaped by what we do to it and by our life experiences. The nerves at the microcellular level that comprise the constituent components of the brain physically change in response to certain inputs.

"Your de-inhibitor ray literally alters the morphology of the brain, impacting the centers that house the social aspects of a person's psyche. All intellect, memory and emotions are left in tact. There's no actual control involved at all. You haven't manipulated emotions, you merely eradicated people's social conscience. As a result, you have drastically modified that person's capacity for reaching their full potential as an individual. Morally, that's the same as murder! Even though physically they're still alive, you've killed a significant portion of who that person is. It's worse even than Mastermind's attempt to steal intellects. The reason that your ray affects only sentient beings and not animals, is that animals' brains have not developed complex social identity centers, but rely instead on instincts.

"What I can't figure out is why you're in the park," Tech concluded. The Loonatic inventor knew the sting of scientific disapproval, having experienced a great deal of it himself. But that was no excuse to ruin other people's lives! "Reality disconnect, Zane, . . . if you're still seeking revenge against the scientific community for banning your insanely dangerous work, shouldn't you be waging this war against the Acmetropolis Science Council instead of innocent people?"

Remembered taunts of 'Insane Zane' echoed in the professor's thoughts, but the villain just laughed to drown it out. "My revenge comes through their failure to aid these people! When I am done with the world, they will beg me to come back!"

"And people call us lunatics!" Tech replied. "Respect isn't the only thing you've lost!"

"I find YOUR lack of respect disturbing, Tech. You actually stood a chance of figuring out my little toy and reversing its effects. But perhaps there is a further lesson I should teach you first." Professor Zane sneered, his madman's good humor finally snapped by the genius' snide remarks. Tech really was the most brilliant student he'd ever taught; he hadn't even considered why non-sentient animals were unaffected . . . but that did not excuse the coyote's insults. "Mark my words, Tech! you have suffered as much ridicule in academia for your scientific inventions as I have, if not more. Let us see just how much civility you retain once stripped of your conscience. Your own resentment will destroy your altruism once and for all!"

Zane smirked at the low, rumbling growl escaping Tech's throat. This should prove a most interesting experiment in sentient behavior. He depressed the activation button on his de-inhibitor ray. Professor Zane still held the sobbing child hostage and Tech's only viable recourse was to try to dive out of the way.

Seeing Tech's danger, Slam dropped his latest human cargo and spun over to snatch the coyote out of harm's way. He was already too late; and Professor Zane's prismatic, brain altering beam engulfed them both. Drawn by Slam's shouts and Tech's howls, the rest of the Loonatics stopped in their crowd control efforts.

"I hope you do well with your synechthry, Loonatics . . . but you'd best watch your teammates!" Professor Zane called in his pseudo-reasonable voice. "The last I checked, predators and prey don't coexist peacefully."

"Our sin-e what?" Danger stopped dropping water eggs on the people to cool their tempers. What was it with brainiac nerds that they had to speak a different language from everybody else?

"Synechthry-is-a-living-together-of-hostile-species-like coyotes-and-Tasmanian-Devils-living-with-rabbits-ducks-and-roadrunners. But-wow-talk-about-your-obscure-words!" Rev explained at top speed. The roadster stopped abruptly, his normally cheerful countenance firming in anger as he realized what the professor actually said. His voice raised with his anger until he was yelling. "And-there-ain't-no-way-no-how-my-best-bud-Tech-would-eat-me-or-Slam-either-no-matter-what-you-did-to -them!"

Laughing, the short, blocky human used the cover of the last of the marauding mob and the Loonatics' own shock to make his escape. Four very concerned Loonatics stared at Slam and Tech. What would they do if their afflicted teammates' ancestral predator-prey relationships did emerged?

Slam bounded by leaping and swiping at Danger's airborne holographic camera as if it were a butterfly. Eyes suddenly glowing violet, the Tasmanian devil used a small, self-generated tornado to boost himself up. He leaped, snapping up the camera in his jaws.

"What? No! Bad Slam, bad!" Forgetting his concerns, Danger Duck quacked over on his burly teammate, trying to retrieve his documentary camera. A wild game of chase ensued. Small yips and playful snarls sounded as Slam evaded Danger time and again.

Meanwhile, Tech crept up to the small child that Zane had threatened. It was crying. The scientist nuzzled up to the small human, sniffing at its ear and bumping his muzzle into its neck. The child threw its arms around him.

"Good dog!" the child claimed as its tears slowly turned to smiles and patted Tech on the head.

"I know." Tech replied. His mind told him that in the past such a reference bothered him a great deal; but with the social stigma gone, he found that he just couldn't care.

"You talk!" Lexi exclaimed somewhat surprised. Somehow, she thought that loss of social constraints equated to loss of coherent thought as well. She took the child and returned it to its parents. The bunny still didn't quite trust the genius's reactions . . . especially if the child was to pull Tech's tail.

"Yeeess, . . . I have for quite some time." Puzzled, Tech cocked his head curiously at the odd comment from his teammate. Then abruptly the coyote sat down and scratched behind his ear.

"Loonatics, I'm so glad you are here!" The full, dignified voice of the equally full bodied mayor carried over to them as the ruler of Acmetropolis arrived on the scene to meet with the city's heroes. With her came several squads of unaffected police to help with crowd control. The reinforcements immediately set to finish clearing the park and only had to scatter briefly as Slam charged through with Danger Duck still in hot pursuit.

Hearing a voice he recognized, Tech bounded over. The lanky coyote placed both front paws on the mayor's shoulders, inadvertently knocking her over, and enthusiastically licked her face in greeting.

"Down, Tech! Heel!" Mortified by his teammates' actions, Ace dashed over to pull his genius off of the mayor. "Rev! Get over here and get Tech inta da supersonic transport! NOW!"

As the rest of the Loonatics herded their slightly out-of-control teammates back to the air-car, Ace sputtered an apology to the mayor and helped her up.

The mayor fixed her hair back into its neat, sweptback style, then brought a hand up to her cheek to wipe away the damp spot. Though there were several Anthro sapiens on her staff, they interacted mostly on a business level. She didn't know that her anthromorphic citizens were so . . . affectionate.

Ace soon joined his teammates and took off for home. He'd have liked to go immediately after Professor Zane, but he didn't dare not knowing the extent of Tech and Slam's condition. Not to mention that he didn't want the rest of his team walking into a trap and loosing their social norms as well. The Loonatic leader stoically ignored Slam chewing and tugging on his seatbelt and Tech leaning out the window to nose into the wind, his long ears streaming back with the speed.

Green Triangle.

"Well," Ace began hesitantly. They'd finally got home with only minor damage to the supersonic speeder's upholstery, and gotten Tech and Slam down to the main living areas of the base. The two carnivores were rolling around the floor happily tearing a throw pillow to shreds in a game of 'tug of war.' Doubt still tinged the Loonatic leader's voice. "Dey seem tame enough."

Duck snorted. He was polishing the spit off his documentary camera that he'd finally retrieved from Slam. He'd had to stuff his hand into the Tasmanian devil's mouth and quack the camera out. He was just glad that he hadn't lost either. "Yeah, well I just hope they're house broken."

Tech yipped when the ex-wrestler became a bit too rough in his play and slunk over to where Danger was sitting on the couch. The coyote rested his head in the mallard's lap, his olive green eyes hopefully searching his face. Tiny whimpers begging for attention escaped his throat.

"Oh, pul-eese!" Danger set his camera aside and tentatively scratched behind Tech's ears. The coyote leaned into it. "Jeeze, you're worse than the orphanage's pet dog was growing up."

Not wanting to miss out, Slam spun over, landing on Danger's lap. The Tasmanian devil rolled onto his back so the the duck could pat his tummy.

"Oh, no!" Danger exclaimed, very uncomfortable with the two's complete lack of social decorum. He quacked out from under his afflicted teammates. "That's where I draw the line!"

"Eh, what's da matter, Duck?" Ace chided congenially. "It's not like dey know any better."

"Perhaps not, but I do!" Danger then sighed in resignation and began the ear scratching again. "Fine. But when you two get back to normal, I'm never letting you forget this!"

Lexi entered the Loonatics open living space; both Slam and Tech visibly perked up. Seeing the predators ready to pounce, Ace nervously tried to block them. The two Loonatics bounded over and past their leader, bowling over Lexi and tumbling all three of them to the ground.

"Oh, ick . . . uh, hey there big guy, how about letting me up?" Lexi tried to push off a rather enthusiastic Slam, but she didn't really want to hurt either of her teammates by actually fighting them. Tech's long brush of a tail wagged back and forth as he licked her face in greeting. At least Tech's damp puppy kisses just tickled, Slam's left the pink bunny positively dripping.

Ace tried to intervene, but got pulled in as well. "No! Eh, blech! Oh, eww."

"Oh-how-cute! It's-just-like-those-pictures-you-sometimes-see-of-a-great-big-dog-and-a-little-tiny-kitten- cuddled-up-together. Not-that-Tech-and-Slam-are-dogs,-mind-you. Tech-is-a-coyote-and-Slam-is-a- Tasmanian-devil-while-of-course-Ace-and-Lexi-are-rabbits-and-not-kittens." Rev commented to Danger.

The mallard snickered at the two drenched bunnies and took a picture of his four teammates with his camera. "What's the matter, Ace? it's not like they know any better."

"It-sure-looks-like-they're-having-fun,-not-that-I'd-really-like-to-try-it myself,-it-would-mess-up-my-feathers -something-terrible. But-you-never-know-with-other-species-and-Lexi-and-Ace-both-really-get-into-the- gymnastics-and-cool-martial-arts-moves-and-stuff-and-so-maybe-the-bunnies-really-do-like-the-rough- and-tumble-sparing. Thought-I-am-a-bit-surprised-that-Tech-likes-it-so-much-he-always-was-so-reserved. Maybe-its-a-good-thing-he-got-zapped-and-now-he's-finally-coming-out-of-his-shell. What-do-you-think, -Lexi?-is-it-a-fur-thing? Duck-and-I-have-feathers- and-we're-not . . .."

"Rev! Stop talking at me and save me!" Lexi yelled, practically drowning.

"Oh-right." In a flash, Rev snatched up a newspaper and smacked his two bizarrely behaving companions with it to get them off the rabbits. Tech laid back his ears and rumbled quietly in his throat, but Slam just ate the newspaper. Snatching back his fingers, the roadrunner started running in a figure 8 around his rambunctious teammates to keep them from taking a nibble out of him.

"Rev, stop! You're only winding them up tighter!" Ace could see Slam and Tech getting wilder by the minute. They needed to find a way to calm them down before someone got hurt. "Just . . . take dem for a walk or something!"

"Don't let them outside! What would my adoring fans think!" Danger shouted in alarm.

"Hmm, Duck has a point . . eh, sort of," Ace conceded. He hopped over to the base control panel and set the door locks for the lower tower with his leader override protocol. "If our boys got out, we might never find dem again."

"Well-come-on-guys-let's-go-walkies." Rev snagged a handful of each of their uniforms and dashed out, dragging Tech and Slam with him.

"Huh, we're going to need leashes." Duck got ready to quack on out of there before he also got recruited. "I wonder if they've had all their shots."

"Well, I'm off for a shower." Lexi left the room.

While he was in the control room, Ace punched up Zadavia's number to inform their boss of the latest developments.

When Zadavia appeared in her multi-colored stream of light, one elegant brow lifted at the sight of the soggy Loonatic leader before her. "Ace, what has happened to you?"

"Slam and Tech . . .."

. . . Eventually, Ace stumbled in his explanation. Man, it felt weird . . . like he was describing his pets, not his teammates. "At least dey're not violent like a lot of da people in da park were."

Zadavia nodded, pleased with how well the Loonatics had come together as teammates, as friends . . . and as family. Though she was still worried. "By removing a significant portion of a person's core identity, if the other areas are lacking, an even more marked imbalance will occur. Any improperly repressed or damaged portion of a person's core identity WILL manifest, usually in inappropriate behavior. Since Tech and Slam's friends . . .you and the rest of the Loonatics . . . fully accept who they are, they don't have many repressed aspects of their personalities and don't have as great a need to act out their frustrations."

"Oh, I get it. You're saying dat Slam and Tech ain't turning violent because our friendship is balancing out da missing parts of deir psyches." Ace was really glad that Tech wasn't mad at him for coming down on him earlier for his invention mishap. Slam and Tech might be decedents of predators, but they were truly their friends; and though they were perhaps just a touch territorial and possessive, they were loyal.

"Essentially correct, Ace."

A worried thought occurred to the bunny. He didn't want to break up the Loonatics, but what if they were forced to? He couldn't just kick out Slam and Tech, specially with as broken as they were. How would they ever survive? "Eh, Zadavia? What happens if we can't reverse what Professor Zane did ta dem?"

"Well, they do still possess their intellects, personalities, and skills . . . as well as their powers," the boss lady began.

"Your right, Zadavia." Ace nodded, unintentionally interrupting the tall Frelengian. It would be hard, but Slam and Tech were still Loonatics and deserved to be treated as such . . . even if they were embarrassing to be around. "We'll deal with it. After all, we've done pretty good with dem so far."

A slight smile crested Zadavia's lips. She had been about to say that with their super powers, the two might have to be institutionalized to protect them as well as others, but Ace's words changed her mind. It was easy to see how the rest of the Loonatic team kept Tech and Slam balanced. Such open acceptance would make almost anyone feel whole and go a long way toward healing them . . . no matter how shattered they were. "There still might be a way to find a cure for them . . .."

Red Triangle.

Somewhat later, Rev dragged back into the living room to find Lexi had returned after showering. He plopped on the couch exhausted.

"Uh, Rev? Where're the guys?" Lexi asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Slam's-still-in-the-virtual trainer-running-around-some-hologram-fire-hydrants," the roadster answered. "And-Tech-is-in-the-lab. Even-without-social-inhibitions-he-likes-to-invent."

Lexi sighed in guilty relief. At least with them occupied, she didn't need to worry about getting slobbered all over again.

"Never fear, Danger Duck is here!" Danger quacked into the main living area of the Loonatic headquarters with a large bag of pet care products. He pulled out two chain leashes, along with spiked collars. Slam's collar was sized 4X large. He also pulled out various and sundry chew toys and a bottle of flee and tick shampoo.

"Duck!" Lexi scolded, but Rev was snickering.

Danger hit the floor, then rolled to his feet in attack position. Not seeing any danger, the mallard realized that Lexi was shouting his name, not screaming battle instructions at him. "What!?"

"Slam and Tech do not have fleas and tics!" Lexi announced firmly.

"Well, you never know." Danger grumped, defending his purchase. "We did take them to the park after all."

Ace entered the room from his extended discussion with Zadavia. He had a plan of action for taking down Professor Zane . . . and if they were lucky, for reversing the effects of his de-inhibitor ray as well. The bunny leader picked up the collars and leashes and smiled at his teammates. "Poifect!"

Ace explained his plan to the others then opened his wrist communicator to Slam and Tech. He whistled sharply into the comlinks and called them up.

"Uh, guys? We really better make sure we feed them before we go." No matter how much growing up in civilization left them resembling tame pets, Slam's and Tech's ancestries were that of wild animals. Lexi didn't want to risk tempting them beyond their capacity to resist. She could hear their approach, and her own rabbit ancestry perceived it as hunting.

"Good idea, Lex." Ace drew the Loonatics into the kitchen. While Slam and Tech ate, Lexi fitted them with the collars and leashes that Danger bought. Tech briefly tried to snake his chain away from Lexi with his magnetism, but the she-bunny flicked it calling him to heel. Smirking, Danger sneak-snapped a picture of the pink and black costumed 'femme fatale' and her chained 'boy toys.'

"What-cha-got-there,-Duck?" Rev zipped over and snagged Danger's documentary camera from him. The roadster peeked at the tiny display. In the small holographic picture, both Slam and Tech were crouched, poised to pounce while Lexi was holding them back by their chain leashes. "Sweet-sweet-sweet! I-gotta-get-me-a-copy-of-that!"

"Hey!" Danger complained, but the two fowls were soon snickering over their plans for the picture. With Duck's scheme and Rev's technical know-how, it was going to be great! Tech and Slam would never find them all.


	3. Chapter 3

Loonatics Unleashed:

"Reasonable Commands" part 3

(This story is post "Going Underground.")

Not sure of rating. Chose T for reading level, not content.

Disclaimer: Loonatics Unleashed and related Characters and Elements are trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Orange Triangle.

"So, where we heading?" Danger asked. Rev flew nearby, but the rest of the team was using their jetpacks.

Eyes already glowing red from using his power of flight, Rev tuned his internal GPS to find their quarry. "Zane's-in-the-seventh-quadrant-just-east-of-the-industrial-center.

"That's his old lab. The same place we fought him once before." Tech declared . . . and almost his teammates could forget that the genius' psyche was shattered. Until that is, he and Slam abruptly took off, dragging Lexi who still had hold of their leashes after them. Rev kept pace, but Danger and Ace had to pour on the speed to catch up.

As the Loonatics approached Professor Zane's laboratory, they could see a large mob gathered around it. Ace motioned, leading his Loonatics towards the roof. He didn't want to engage the crowd if he didn't have to; they had bigger fish to fry. The decision was taken out of his hands when Slam's fighter training kicked in and he suddenly dove with his jetpack into the midst of the throng, dragging Tech and Lexi with him.

The heavy weight Loonatic smashed down on an abandoned police transport, shattering the vehicle and scattering the rampaging mob with his entrance. Tech howled a battle cry as the soft, green glow of his magnetic powers took hold of the police car's tailpipe and a couple of tension rods as well as a plethora of nuts, bolts, and ball bearings. Popping the various shrapnel into the tailpipe and fitting it with the tension rods, the uninhibited genius then used his magnetism to power his makeshift railgun and fired into the crowd. Lexi used her glowing pink brain blasts to push the people back out of harm's way. Rev zipped through with his super speed to blow the crowd further back with the speed of his passing; while Duck, eyes glowing orange, tossed his power eggs to cover them. Ace aimed his yellow laser blasts at the feet of the mob to encourage any stragglers on their way.

Though, uninhibited, the crowd's sense of self preservation was still in tack. As one, they fell back from the Loonatics' concentrated efforts. Glad that there were no casualties and only minor damage to the surrounding neighborhood, Ace pulled his team up to the laboratory roof. As soon as the Loonatics cleared out, the crowd surged back.

"What wimps!" Danger Duck cut the power to his jetpack and dropped lightly to the roof of Professor Zane's laboratory. "I didn't even break a sweat."

"I should hope not, Duck." Ace shot a smug grin at the mallard as the rest of the team also came in for a landing. "We weren't fighting super villains, after all. Just ordinary, upright Acmetropolis citizens."

Danger snorted. "Yeah, right. Ordinary mind-altered, maniacally violet upright citizens who wanted to bash our brains in!"

Ace cut a hole in a roof skylight with his laser vision as Rev and Danger helped Lexi keep hold of Tech and Slam so they could all dropped in on the professor. "And now for da rematch."

Busy at his central column workstation, Professor Zane struggled to find a way to free himself from his current predicament. The short human had planed on abandoning the lab after his confrontation with the Loonatics in the park, as they knew the location of this hideaway. He had only wanted to gather his research so that it wouldn't fall into the 'right' hands. However, a good number of his victims also figured out where he was hiding. Zane was regretting leaving their intellects intact. He couldn't control his victims as he had the Fuz-Zs, and the mob had surrounded the building. He was besieged in his own lab! "They can't get in, but I also can't get out!"

"Well, that's what you get for inducing a lawless state." Danger Duck dropped lightly to the floor and struck a dramatically heroic pose.

"Eh, what's up, Doc?" Ace stood boldly in the center of the room. The high ceilinged lab was much as the Loonatics remembered it with its large experimental chambers and computers along the walls . . . though minus the gigantic, chocolate crazed Fuz-Z monsters. They had fought their way in, now all they had to do was get Zane. Ace allowed a shrewd smile to tick the corner of his mouth. By the time they were done with him, that maniac would never mess around with anyone's psyche again!

Professor Zane gaped as the whole of the Loonatic team dropped in. The superhero team should not still be functioning . . . at all! . . . let alone be doing so well. He stared at Tech and Slam in amazement. "But, but how? They should be completely out of control!"

"Eh, its all a matter of issuing reasonable commands, Doc. Ya tell 'em what dey wanna hear . . . and dey obey." Ace motioned toward Lexi. "Here's an example of a reasonable command just now."

"Alright boys, sic 'em!" Lexi unclipped Slam's and Tech's leashes. Not liking to watch, the pink and black costumed bunny then turned away and waited in the far corner of the room until she was needed again.

Professor Zane's eyes widened in horrified disbelief as two feral anthromorphs bounded toward him. He turned to flee.

Eyes glowing violet, Slam spun forward, sucking up the professor in his thunder mode vortex, shook him up with it, then flung him to the ground. Zane scrambled to his feet and ran. Lunging after the fleeing man, Slam gripped the human's boot in his teeth. The Tasmanian devil vigorously shook his head back and forth. Professor Zane lost his balance and fell heavily to the floor again.

Tech leaped on his chest and ran his tongue up the professor's face, the force of the motion knocking his goggle-like glasses askew.

"Well, dat's one way ta give him a lickin'." Ace chuckled. Though he affected unconcern, the Loonatic leader kept a careful eye on his uninhibited teammates to keep things from getting too far out of hand.

Zane sputtered, flailing his arms wildly to beat off the uninhibited anthromorph. "Bad Dog!"

"I know." Tech shoved his muzzle right into the terrified man's face and gave him a tooth-filled grin. One of Zane's flailing arms smacked Tech in the muzzle, eliciting a snarl from the feral anthromorph. A sing-song growl worked his throat as he and Slam tired of their game and began circling the cringing man.

"You, you can't do this to me!" Zane protested. He saw in the olive green and in the crimson eyes that prowled around him that they would happily rip him to shreds. "You're the Loonatics. You're supposed to be heroes! You can't do this to me. It . . . it's immoral!"

"True. For me it would be unethical to give you what you desoive and tear you limb from limb." Ace agreed amiably. The Loonatic leader grinned. A little aversion therapy was just what the doctor ordered. He waved a hand toward Slam and Tech. "But not for dem! You saw to it yourself dat dey have no morals to break."

After circling a couple of times, Tech stiffened then pounced on Zane's neck, pulling him down and allowing Slam to tackle his middle as the two carnivores cooperated in symbiotic hunting to bring down their prey.

"Please! I'll do anything! Just call them off!" Zane shrieked. In a panic, the professor clumsily threw his de-inhibitor ray towards Ace in an attempt to bribe the Loonatic leader into clemency.

"Not enough!" Ace snapped. "Where're da blueprints and all your research on it?"

Professor Zane pointed to his computer counter and gurgled out the password. In seconds flat, Rev had what they needed.

At a cue from their leader, Danger Duck quacked in on Slam then quacked the big guy over to Lexi where the two worked to calm him down. Lexi spoke soothingly and gently petted the Tasmanian devil's fur until Slam stopped struggling against them, trying to return to his catch. At the same time, Rev dashed forward and took charge of Tech. The roadrunner slipped the data card of Zane's research into Tech's utility belt.

Ace picked up the de-inhibitor and decided to give Tech another reasonable command. Despite his lack of manners, only Tech had any hope of finding a way to reverse the effect. The bunny waved the de-inhibitor teasingly in front of Tech as in a game of 'fetch.'

"Here, Tech!" Ace called. The coyote's head cocked, his long canine ears perked up. "Invent!"

Ace tossed the de-inhibitor across the room. Tech made a running leap after it. "Good boy!"

Tech snagged the device and jetted off for home, leaving his teammates to clean up the mess and turn Professor Zane over to the police.

By the time the Loonatics returned to base, Tech had already reversed the modulator and was working on integrating it into the sound booster and laser light system he'd installed earlier in the flight deck. Ace and Lexi watched as Danger and Slam came in for a landing. Danger had Slam's leash, but they both were hopelessly tangled together. Rev slipped up beside his best friend and set Tech's innovations to Lexi's music. Then he worked to harmonize the light wave output with the holographic projector. As soon as all was set, he flicked the activation switch.

"Oh, no you don't." Seeing that Tech had his sound cancellation headset on, Danger Duck quacked over onto his shoulders and ripped it off of the coyote's ears. "You, Mister, are getting your social conscience back!"

They broadcast the counter prismatic frequencies over the whole city-planet, bouncing it off satellites and area dishes until all of Acmetropolis was flooded with one kickin' light and sound show. "Oh yeah! We Loonatics so ROCK!"

Green Triangle.

Later, alone in his lab, Tech picked up a device he'd constructed while under the influence of Zane's de-inhibitor ray. The coyote genius cringed as he touched it. He was glad that Rev didn't know about it. The thing vaguely resembled a wire mesh skullcap with fiber optic dreadlocks. It wasn't the victim's desires that it linked into, however, but rather the operator's . . . and its 'instillation' was somewhat invasive. And he had thought that Mallory's brain wave siphon was sick! It was dirty and brutal and his stomach twisted at the mere thought of actually using it on anybody . . . no matter how villainous they might be. He was just glad that he hadn't tested it out on one of his friends while he was amoral.

Danger's earlier comment of 'Why would you even build something that insanely dangerous!' rang dully through his thoughts. He sighed. Sometimes 'because he could' was not reason enough. Tech firmly set the device down and took out his tools to dismantle the thing. As he brought the screwdriver close, though, his hand gave an involuntary jerk. It went against his grain to purposefully destroy one of his babies.

"Gblaa rrhhng forever." Slam walked into the lab. That the Tasmanian devil didn't roar in on one of his cyclones was evidence enough that he also felt ashamed of how he'd acted.

Tech jumped, his thoughts painful and his conscience burning. He stuffed the offending piece of technology into a locker, determining to melt down the thing at the soonest opportunity. "I'm not hiding, Slam."

Slam shrugged. He was. He'd been avoiding his teammates for the better part of the evening, especially Lexi whom he had nearly drown. But hunger was starting to draw him out. Ace had yet to lift the lock down on the lower tower exits. He couldn't slip out to snag a pizza. If he wanted to eat, he had to go up to where the others were, but he wasn't going to go alone. Snagging the taller coyote, Slam dragged him up to the main living area.

Tech determined that the only way to deal with the humiliation he felt was to pretend that today never happened. He was a genius for crying out loud. He should have been able to overcome his animalistic behavior! . . . He was going to miss the ear scratches and tummy rubs though.

Ace and the others kindly avoided mentioning the whole embarrassing incident. Even Danger was unusually discrete on the matter . . . though that was likely due to Lexi threatening him with a brain blast if he didn't behave. Slam immediately started pulling stuff out of the refrigerator for them while Tech opened a drawer with his magnetic powers and floated out utensils onto the table. He then turned to a cupboard to grab some plates. Maybe getting back to normal wouldn't be so hard after all. Then his eyes caught on the framed picture cube sitting on the counter of him and Slam on Lexi's leashes. He glanced sharply up to see Rev smirking at him. A small groan burst out with his breath. As if they'd ever be allowed to live it down!


End file.
